Franchising companies have her responsibility to insure that their trademarks are not infringed upon. Just because a franchise company has properly registered the service Marks and trademarks with the proper state and federal agencies does not mean that some one will not try to use such Marks without permission.

There is no way that a franchisor can be in all places at once to insure no one has stolen their name. However, a franchisor also has a supreme advantage in that they have franchisees all over the country who can look out for such things. It is for this reason that I decided to address this issue in our franchise agreements for my company;

3.11.3 Name Infringement

Franchisee will promptly notify Franchisor of any unauthorized use of any of the Marks or any colorable variation thereof, by third parties. Franchisee will promptly notify Franchisor of any claim, demand or suit against Franchisee based upon or arising in connection with Franchisee